In many wellbore drilling applications, reservoir access can be enhanced through directional drilling. Various drilling systems are available to enable directional drilling and the formation of deviated wellbores. For example, coiled tubing drill strings have employed a bent mud motor below an orienter to enable directional steering. Because the bent mud motor slides along with the coiled tubing, the orienter is required to adjust the tool face by adjusting the orientation of the bend to steer the bit. Orienting the bend and steering the bit in this manner enables formation of the well path, and thus the wellbore, in a desired direction.
Conventional orienting tools may be powered through the flow of drilling mud directed downhole and through the orienting tool. However, mud flow controlled devices require substantial time to change the tool face angle. The time lag is unacceptable in various types of applications, such as drilling applications using compressed fluids. Sometimes, the orienting tool also presents difficulties in transmission of data and/or control signals to and from devices located below the orienting tool.